Five days ago Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com wrote of Rafael Furcal that “the club does not anticipate the shortstop having limitations because of his right elbow.”

Today the St. Louis Post Dispatch has an article about Furcal’s status under the headline: “Elbow continues to limit Furcal.”

So much for that, I guess.

Derrick Goold writes that Furcal “has yet to let loose a throw at full strength and has been slowed by an irritation in his right elbow.”

Furcal is already saying stuff like “I prefer to miss 10 or 15 games here in spring and not miss the first game of the season.” In other words, his elbow remains a major issue after sitting out September and the playoffs with a torn ligament and later opting for rest and rehab instead of Tommy John surgery.